Quiz Night…

One of our local pubs, The Prince of Wales, hosts a regular quiz night and so a few of us decided to put together a team, called "Norfolk ‘n’ Chance" (always about the cheap laugh), and we actually came in 2^nd place. We donated our winnings to charity as we were just there for the fun of it all.

Cycling…

Prudential Ride London is an annual cycling event that comes through our village. In the morning amateur cyclists come through and in the afternoon we get a few laps of the professionals racing through the closed off streets. The wet weather we were experiencing after the heatwave reduced spectator numbers, however there was still a good view from the pub. At least it was probably safer for the participants than the near 30-degree heat that we had the week before.

Sitting in a Field…

This year we went to a new festival (new to us that is as it has been going for 27 years). We drove down to the boarder of Dorset to the Larmer Tree Festival, where Deb, Sue and I set up our campsite in a dry, hot field. Sue had to take it easy as she had just found out she had developed shingles (I had it a few weeks before, and we thought it was not supposed to be contagious).

The site is spread throughout the beautiful establish grounds of and grand house, and it offered a variety of areas to explore – the traditional large open area with the majority of the stalls and performance tents, a secluded main stage area surrounded by trees, a wooded alternative therapy area near the silent disco, a children’s area with activities, and many more.

There were a great variety of acts on including kid’s performers, literary talks, comedy and music of all genres. There were not many acts we knew but half the fun is find new music. We saw the following performances:

Jake Bugg (the bluesy singer songwriter still grateful to be billed as a headliner) 

First Aid Kit (country-folk-pop sisters with great harmonies and big sound) 

Public Service Broadcasting (a multimedia electronic outfit with a reputation for forensic, historic storytelling)

Roo Panes (a mellow singer songwriter)

Elephant Sessions (Scottish indie-folk band with a high-energy set) 

Broken Brass Ensemble (a Netherlands brass band that fuses hip-hop, funk, soul, dance and jazz into a lively performance)

Goat Girl (a young, edgy band from London with potential) 

IDER (London duo poised to break into the mainstream) 

Josienne Clarke & Ben Walker (seen before, this duo combine haunting vocals and expert guitar playing into a sophisticated elegant sound)

Tom Speight (Tom and his female partner on stage make a lovely sound together) 

Laura Goldthorp (a mesmerising singer songwriter receiving some well-deserved plaudits) 

Noah’s House Band (an entertaining novelty act where each song is based on an animal, such as the hydrophobic whale and a duck-billed platypus with an identity crisis) 

Guns of Navarone (a foot stomping 10-piece Ska band) 

The Olde Boston Tea Party (an old-school bluegrass/Americana band with heart and humour) 

Owl in the Sun (a lively Americana/gypsy-jazz outfit) 

Professor Elemental (a novelty ‘Steampunk’ hip-hop act) 

Selby and the Dharma Blitz (an alternative hip hop funk project that provide an infectious groove to their performance) 

Thunderbridge Bluegrass Band (a traditional bluegrass outfit of accomplished performers) 

Jones (Cherie Jones is a British alternative pop singer with a great stage presence) 

Overall, apart from Sue struggling with her illness, it was a very good festival, great hot and dry weather, tasty food and drink, and fabulous new music.

A Local Show…

WESTfest is our local fair held on the recreation grounds. It is a small affair and with the heat some of the activities were curtailed (the dog show was cancelled for the sake of the animals). The local fire brigade also helped by using their hose to keep people cool in the hot weather. Marc, Sue and I opted for the alternative solution of beer and ice-cream.

Capel Military Vehicle Show…

Marc was over from Sweden and stopped with us for a few days. He and I went out to the local Capel Military Vehicle Show on a very hot Saturday. There was a good display of military hardware, folks in uniform, and collectable stands selling all manner of stuff. In the main arena, we saw a re-enactment show between Germans and Americans/Russians, tanks and artillery firing their guns, and a tank tug of war. Next to the beer tent was a dance floor where couples were lindy hopping to period tunes.